


Harmony's Warriors: Iron Mare

by AvengingHobbits



Series: Harmony's Warriors Universe [1]
Category: Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Anthropomorphic, Crossover, Gen, but like 'rebuild from the ground up' kind of rewrite, enjoy this extremely niche level material, go figure, hence the teen rating, if this were a movie it'd be pg-13, lots of various side characters, technically it's a rewrite of an older work, the marvel/mlp crossover nobody asked for but i made anyways
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 23:25:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13511943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvengingHobbits/pseuds/AvengingHobbits
Summary: Sunset Shimmer is known throughout Equestra as many things: A genius inventor. A billionaire head of a megacorp. A partymare second to none. And perhaps a bit too smug for her own good. But after she's captured by terrorists, and held for ransom, she finds perhaps there's more to life then building the next gizmo, or throwing the next party.Perhaps... perhaps she can actually change the world for the better. And how will she do that?By becoming the Iron Mare.--------------------------------------------------------------------------A second attempt at reworking a project that, in shape or another, has been around since at least 2011, this is the first entry in what I hope will be a series of fics that attempt to adapt everybody's favorite superhero franchise. While obviously I'm using the film's as a starting point, I hope I'm still able to create something that feels different as time goes on. Here's hoping it goes a lot easier this time than last time. For those wondering, the ponies in this story are anthro, so they have hands and feet, but are still very much ponies (ie tales, manes, muzzles, horns and wings and all that). Hopefully, that's not too jarring.





	1. Chapter 1

The first thing that came to Sunset Shimmer’s mind was pain. A smoldering, volcanic pain blossoming from the center of her chest, seeping outwards and spreading to wrap around her torso like a constrictor.

Around her were various rumbling, indistinct voices, all blended together in an incomprehensible slurry of chattering. She tried to move, which only made the pain in her chest spike upwards, and she let out an involuntary groan of pain. She felt something coarse wrapped tightly around her wrists, and she gave a sluggish, experimental tug. Her eyes opened, and she was greeted with a shroud of what seemed to be sloppy stitched together burlap covering her head and blocking most, if not all, of the light from beyond it.

 _Rope? Wha…?_ The heavy fog around her brain was steadily clearing, and she realized she was sitting in some sort of cheap, rickety fold-open chair. Around her horn, snug and letting out a pulsing drone, was some sort of ring. She tried to magic it off, only for the ring to grow hot, causing her to wince in pain.

Just as the full gravity of the situation started to fall on her, someone tore the burlap sack off her head, and she recoiled as she was assaulted by an unforgiving explosion of light from a nearby work lamp. The lamp was so close by that she could feel the heat coming off it, light stabbing into her still adjusting eyes. Sunset gave a small groan as she shook her head, trying to reorient herself and get away from the light for a bit.

The world finally came into focus, and Sunset craned her neck around the room. Tied down to the fold-open chair, she was sitting in what seemed to be a small room, carved out of the surrounding rock. Looming next to her to the left, and gripping their assault rifle tightly, was a lumbering Diamond Dog, the thick, musty body odor forcing Sunset to suppress a gag. To her right, and holding an assault rifle of his own, was a slovenly looking griffin, his crooked beak clamped down on a limp cigarette.

Standing on a tripod about two meters in front of Sunset, and peering back with impassive lens and blinking red light, was a small video camera, and next to it, a wiry looking dragon. With a snap of his claw, he motioned towards the griffin, who quickly produced a folded up sheet of coffee stained paper.

Sunset flinched as the griffin began to aggressively squawk and chirp, as Sunset felt her heart fall into the pit of her stomach, the full scope of her situation finally clicking into place. She’d seen this setup before on the news...

This was a ransom video, and she was the hostage.

 

* * *

 

**48 HOURS EARLIER**

Flash Sentry gave a tug at his collar, anxiously flexing his wings and glancing down at his watch for what felt like the seventieth time.

“Sunset’s sure taking her sweet time,” he muttered, looking in the direction of the bathrooms, where Sunset had excused herself to… an hour ago. Flash sighed in frustration and returned to scanning the large ballroom. Projected on a large screen, with a booming narration, was a rather intricate multimedia display touting Sunset as an “billionaire innovator, industrialist, philanthropist, and above all, a true genius of our time”.

Flash sighed heavily, shaking his head. A part of him was thankful that Sunset had gone AWOL, as if she _had_ been here, she would have probably smothered the whole room in a suffocating aura of raw _smugness_. Flash briefly checked his watch again, as the presentation continued, as he subtly fished his phone out of his pocket.

“ _Where are you?_ ” He typed discreetly, sending the text Sunset’s way. “ _Presentation is wrapping up. Get over here!_ ” He sighed, as a finger poked his shoulder.

He looked over his shoulder, only to have a large, surprisingly heavy crystalline award placed in his hand by an anonymous looking stagehand, who gave him a subtle nudge forwards.

“Go on, Mr. Sentry, it’s your turn to introduce the award.”

Flash nodded awkwardly. “Right, right.” He gripped the award a little more firmly, as he strode out on stage and up to the podium at the center. The ballroom full of onlookers gave him a polite applause, as Flash gave his bowtie a brief tug in an attempt to loosen it. He still wasn’t exactly sure why they chose _him_ to further introduce the award, since the fancy montage seemed to have done the job just fine. Anyways, Flash knew he wasn’t exactly the one who went for fancy awards ceremonies anyways. He was out of his depth here, surrounded by starched collars and tuxedos that probably cost more than his apartment. But alas, as Sunset’s chosen liaison between her and the military, that meant he found himself stuck attending these events.

So here he was, clearing his throat and smiling awkwardly as he began to speak.

“Well, it's gonna be kinda hard to follow up that video, right?” He began, hoping that at least a brief joke would relax him. The audience let out scattered, polite yet ever so slightly forced laughter.

“I’m going to keep it short, since really, what else can be said. Sunset Shimmer’s done so much for Equestria over the years, and so it brings me great honor to present her with the…” he glanced down at the plaque. “Van Dyne Award for Scientific Progress.” He gave a smile, looking straight at Sunset’s table, as he gave the yellow mare sitting there, Upper Crust, a hopeful look.

Upper Crust shook her head, sharply motioning at the still empty seat. Flash swallowed.

_Shit._

“Well… come and get it, Sunny…” he gave Upper Crust a pleading look, which Upper Crust responded to with a bitter glower. There was a lingering pause, before Upper Crust, still giving him a look that could curdle milk, stood up from her chair and smoothly strode over.

“Looks like Sunset is, well, busy at the moment, so to accept it on her behalf, everypony welcome Miss Upper Crust.”

Flash made an elaborate welcoming motion as Upper Crust stepped onto the stage, her glare falling off her face, and instead replaced with a prim and proper smile as her hands reached out towards the award, scooping it out of Soarin’s hands and smoothly gliding over to the podium. She cleared her throat, producing a practised, drum skin tight smile for the crowd.

“Well, as you can all no doubt see, I’m obviously not Sunset Shimmer,” she began, allowing the scattering of laughter to spread throughout the ballroom. “And knowing Sunset, she’d probably say something a touch off-color right now, no doubt make light of all this. But nevertheless, I can comfortably say that she is--well, _will_ \--be quite thankful no doubt for this glorious emerald Van Dyne Award. She might pretend otherwise, but, above all else, Sunset is a mare whose heart is always in the right place, and who always looks forward. So, I, Upper Crust, hereby accept this award on her behalf. Thank you.”

With that, she gave a thanking nod towards the audience, shook the Flash's hand, and the pair of them strode off backstage. Any pretences of cheer soon washed away to frustration as she shoved the award into his hands.

“Late as usual,” she muttered, glaring down at the award. “You should have planned for this instead of letting all momentum die like a dog that had just been run over.”

“What am I supposed to do? Put her on a leash?” Flash shot back.

“I don’t care. Just make sure that this stupidity doesn’t happen again,” Upper Crust replied sharply, adjusting her gloves. “Now, go give that to her. Maybe she’ll use it as a paperweight or something. She’ll have a matched set.”

Flash said nothing more as Upper Crust hurried away. A sane pony probably would have sighed in relief, or conveniently lost their grip on the statuette and watched it fall on certain feet, but he liked to think he still had _some_ professionalism about himself. After straightening out his clothes, Flash tucked the award away and moved towards the exit, pushing past a few curious visitors on his way outside.

The casino floor was a flurry of activity, loaded with overeager pensioners and clueless socialites looking to win or lose at the myriad of games and competitions that dominated the complex. Flash pushed through the lingering haze of cigarette smoke, shouting and barking laughter, searching for the biggest crowd that would inevitably contain the biggest winners. After a few minutes of searching, he finally spotted a certain yellow and red haired golden yellow mare leaning against a craps table, surrounded on all sides by a dazed gaggle of younger men, body wrapped in a shimmering ruby dress tailor made to showcase her figure.

“... So then I said ‘Of course not, Mister Prime Minister’,” Sunset said as she scooped the dice back into her hands. “‘Ask me again by the sixth, then you’ll know what drunk is’.” This drew a chorus of laughter from the men before Sunset tossed the dice, letting out an exaggerated holler as the die skipped across the table.

“Pass wins,” she called as the dice landed on 11. “Tough luck boys, but then you’ve got to take a few risks if you want to score more in life. Ask me, I’d love to tell you more about that.” _And that’s my cue._ Flash stepped forward and pushed a few of the socialites out of the way to reach Sunset.

“Glad to see that someone’s having a good night.” he said just loud enough to catch Sunset’s attention. Sunset’s face flickered with a brief look of confusion as she gulped down whatever no-doubt alcoholic drink she held in her hand.

“Ooh, yeah, about that.” Sunset said, setting the glass down on the tableside. “I was on my way back but then I started winning again. Can you go and tell them to wait a little longer?”

“Too late,” Flash answered, “Already done.”

“Aww, that sucks,” Sunset replied somewhat absent-mindedly. “Guess old Crusty had to fill in? Or did you woo them with your dulcet tones?”

Flash suppressed a laugh. “Nah, old Crusty handled it. About as gracefully as to be expected.”

Sunset gave a big grin, and Flash could have sworn that she had a bit more rum in her drink than coke. “Great! Then they can just mail it to me and I’ll put it somewhere. Maybe next to the Neighbel Prize or something.”

“It’s right here.” Flash pushed the award into Sunset’s hand. “Figured I’d save on postage and just hand deliver it to you.”

“Oh, thanks, Flashy,” Sunset regarded the award for a moment before turning to one of her boy toys. “Look at this. I mean, Celestia’s tits, it’s _way_ too topheavy. I keep telling them to redesign the thing whenever they give me a new one, but ‘ _Nooooo,_ why should we listen to the _engineer_ about this? I’m a stuffed shirt whose bowtie got too starched!’” she chortled, putting on a haughty accent. Another chorus of laughter burst forth as Sunset picked up the dice again. “Now, kiss for good luck?” she said as she pushed the dice into Flash’s face.

Flash glanced down at the dice, and back up at Sunset “No.” he answered flatly.

“Aw, come on!” she teased. “Blow on my dice! Crusty would!”

Flash shook his head, holding up a hand. “I’m not blowing on your dice, Sunset.”

“Pleeeeease?” Sunset’s melodramatically playful whine was interrupted by Flash giving Sunset’s hand a light smack, which Sunset took as enough of an answer to throw the dice. “There it is! He didn’t blow on them but maybe something good will come of it.” she barked, tossing a hand over his shoulder and hugging him close.

Two. By Sunset’s pout, nothing good had come of that.

“Guess you can’t win everything tonight, Sunset.” Flash offered, giving her a pat on the back. Sunset replied with a snorting laugh.

“Eh, the night’s young, and I can always make that back later.”

And with that, she pivoted on the balls of her feet and gave Flash’s wrist a yank.

“Blackjack time!”

And with that, Flash was pulled into the swirling crowd of ponies again.

 

* * *

 

The fluffy white clouds of morning still clung around Mt. Canterlot when an unassuming cream colored automobile drove up to the striking glass coated mini-palace that Sunset called home.

Stepping out, briefly pausing to adjust her glasses was a short, professional looking white pony with a dark brown mane. She was dressed in a no nonsense navy blue pantsuit, and she popped a glance down at her watch. Her lips pursed.

“She’s going to be late,” she muttered under her breath, striding across the large driveway, giving the gardener a quick wave and a smile as she walked up to the mansion, scanning her handprint which allowed her entry.

“Welcome, Raven Inkwell,” came a roboticized voice, and Raven strode in smoothly, walking at a brisk clip.

“Mornin’ Miss Inkwell,” called out the maid, who was busily dusting one of Sunset’s late-Reneighssance sculptures, and Raven gave a welcoming nod.

“Morning to you too, Feather Duster. Do you know where Sunset is? It’s 11:30, I already called and everything?”

Feather Duster let out a scoff. “Oh, you know Miss Shimmer. She’s still in bed. Do you want me to wake her up for you?”

Raven let out a sigh, holding up a hand. “No, no, I’ll handle it.”

With that, Raven immediately went to the kitchen. She’d file the paperwork she was due to work on later. Right now, she had to make sure Sunset at least kept _some_ sort of schedule. A quick slurry of raw eggs, ice cold water, and oats was slapped together, and she grabbed an energy bar, placing the two on a plastic tray and wordlessly walking to the nearest elevator.

The ride up was swift, Raven taking the opportunity to make sure she looked as Properly Professional as possible, before it came to a stop on Sunset’s landing. The walk down the hall to Sunset’s bedroom was swift, and Raven moved to give a sharp knock.

Her eyebrows rose slightly, however, when she caught sight of the door still being slightly ajar, having been prevented from closing completely by a band of lacey, fire-engine red fabric.

“Darn it…” Raven quietly pushed the door open, and deftly nudged the discarded bra asides. The door opened to a surprisingly dark room, and Raven felt her shoe clink against what must have been a discarded bottle. The clinking sound was answered by a groan or two from the direction of the bed.

 _Of course._ Raven thought, sighing as she placed the try down on the vanity, and walked over to the windows, which had their heavy curtains pulled to block out the sun. Raven didn’t bother to suppress a slight smirk as she gave the curtains a good firm tug, and they swung open, bathing the room in the twinkling light of earl morning sun.

There was a flurry of movement from under the covers, as a male voice barked in frustration. Raven rolled her eyes, giving the covers on the bed a sharp yank, unveiling a tall looking zebra. Raven’s smirk faded to a decidedly nonplussed frown.

“Who in Equestria are you?” she asked, crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow sharply.

The zebra, holding a hand out to block some of the morning light, still managed to throw an absolutely slime coated grin her way. “Why I’m Ralph Razzie. Reporter.”

“Ralph Razzie? Well, Mr. Razzie, I’m sorry to say that you must be going.”

The zebra’s grin faded somewhat. “Wha? Why?”

Raven chose to answer by picking up a pair of boxers off the floor, and plopping them onto his comforter covered lap. “I’m sure you have far more important places to be then this bed, considering it’s Monday, and you’re no doubt late for work.” she motioned towards the watch on his wrist.

“Holy shit!” The look of absolute panic that replaced his insufferable egotism as he looked down at his watch was something Raven would treasure for years. She merely turned and discreetly walked out of the room as he stumbled about, grabbing various pieces of discarded clothing off the floor in a mad rush to leave.

Raven meanwhile, entered the elevator again, pressing the last button firmly. If she knew Sunset, the mare had probably already fortified herself in the laboratory. As was her standard pattern of behavior by this point. Go to party, meet a random stallion, drag him home and end up sleeping with him.

It was frustrating for Raven. On the one hand, it really wasn’t any of her business what Sunset did on her personal time. After all, on paper, Raven was just her secretary. Her business was to organize dates, arrange meetings, and make sure things ran along smoothly.

But on the other hand, Raven was also Sunset’s friend. Friends didn’t let other friends just drag muckrakers into their homes every weekend.

Raven waited for a brief moment once the elevator came to a stop, the door swishing open to greet her with a headlong burst of hard rock music. Sunset was in the center of the room, her back to the elevator as she tinkered around with her favorite motorcycle. Raven said nothing as she stepped over to the radio, quickly killing the music before turning to face Sunset.

“Why’d you turn off my music?” Sunset asked, still not looking up. “My workshop, my music.”

“And a good morning to you too.” Raven said. “I ran into your friend upstairs. He should be on his way out now.”

“What friend?” Sunset asked absentmindedly, leaning forwards to continue her tinkering.

“The reporter. Ralph Razzie.”

Sunset’s tinkering paused for a moment as her ears pricked up, a look of vague recognition floating across her face. “Oh yeah, him.” She shrugged. “Music, please?”

“You _do_ know you’re supposed to be on your way for the meeting right now.” Raven continued, consulting her clipboard.

“What? What meeting?” Sunset finally looked over her shoulder, blinking away excess grease she had apparently smeared over her eyes. “Is it another one of those dumb dress-up fashion show things that Crusty keeps dragging me to?”

Raven shook her head. “No, it’s the defense contractor meeting that _you_ set up with Flash to show off the new hardware.” Raven pulled out one of the papers she was carrying, peering down at it through her glasses. “Yup, just I suspected, that was the night you almost passed out in your shower and vomited all over him and me.”

Sunset grimaced for a moment. “Really? I don’t remember any of that.” She muttered before turning back to her bike. “Look, just call Flash and let him know I’ll be there soon. Isn’t that what you always do?”

“I would, except I’ve already used that excuse earlier this morning.”

“Earlier? What time is it?”

“11:30 AM.”

“Oh...” there was a pause, Sunset giving her wrist watch a dismissive glance. “Well, he can wait a bit longer. Not like any of us are gonna die or anything. I’ll bike over once I’m done with this.”

 _Sure you will,_ Raven thought, watching as Sunset once again returned to her work.

“Your flight’s at noon.” Raven said. “You leave any later, you’re walking to the Griffon Kingdoms.” Sunset opened her mouth to say something. “And no, I’m not carrying you.”

“You’re no help at all.” Sunset gave a heavy sigh, spinning in her stool to give Raven a disgruntled glower. Raven merely responded by smirking ever so slightly.

Sunset rolled her eyes, raising her hands in defeat melodramatically. “ _Fiiiiiiiiiine_ , I’ll go get dressed.” She got up, wiping her hands off with an old rag. “You’d think I get at least a _little_ slack considering I’m the one making all their special little toys.”

“They did, and then you slept in again.” Raven started. “Maybe if your evenings weren’t so... lively, you’d be able to get to more of your appointments on time.”

Sunset just cast a nonplussed look over her shoulder. “Raves, you’re seriously not gonna start lecturing me on my _sex life_ are you? Celestia above, is the office getting that boring now?”

“No, I’m just doing my job.” Raven replied with a sly grin. “But I’ll admit, seeing you get all twisted up does make all this somewhat worthwhile.”

Sunset’s frown finally broke, and she let out a chuckle. “Alright, you win,” she started up the staircase. “I will now go willingly subject myself to the horrors of big business, I’ll call my guys and whip something up on the flight over,” as she walked, she whipped her laptop off a nearby desk, tucking it under her arm. “Happy, _Mom_?”

“Oh I’m simply joyous,” Raven shot back, grinning herself. “Just make sure you don’t get into any trouble, alright?”

Sunset let out a laugh. “No promises!”

 

* * *

 

 _Well this is a bust_ , Sunset thought, glancing down at her watch for what felt like the hundredth time, as, a few feet away and yammering into a microphone for what felt like an eternity, was a wire thin earth pony in a crisp suit. Sunset hadn’t really gotten his name—he’d jittered it out so fast and eagerly that it flew right over Sunset’s jet-lagged head—but she did know he was apparently the assistant ambassador from Equestria, here to welcome with, as he put it, “kinship and camaraderie” the delegation of diamond dogs and griffins that were representatives from South Griffionheim, and to present them with a decent sized shipment of one of Sunset’s weapons to make use of.

Honestly, Sunset couldn’t care less. Why she’d been dragged half way across the globe, on what was practically an overblown gift exchange was something she’d never know. Anyways, Sunset didn’t like to rub elbows with these type of folks. Too many oily manes and stapled on smiles for her tastes. Not a scientist or mechanic among the lot. Nope, the delegation that had greeted her at the airport, and practically shoved her into a waiting armored truck, was made almost entirely of vaguely slimey political types, the kind of ponies that Upper Crust tended to handle. Bean counters and pencil pushers. The only other ponies were all thuggish, jarhead soldiers, whose only language seemed to be grumbled mutterings or loud barking of orders.

Sunset shifted in her chair, a decidedly spartan fold out chair one would more likely find at a church picnic than a diplomatic affair, and her eyes lazily scanned the area from behind her sunglasses, noting how the wide, dusty expanse of desert tended to blend together in a smear of beige, the only other colors being the occasional ambiguous colored scrub brush, and the piercingly blue sky, which didn’t have a single cloud to block the oven-hot sun.

“And lastly, I would wish to welcome the esteemed delegates of South Griffonheim to this meeting, especially his Excellency Sufjan Bah’ran, who has so kindly provided us with this absolutely beautiful location in which to showcase the power and, above all, the security of which Equestria is more than gracious to provide for this fledgling nation,” The skinny assistant ambassador continued, giving a bow of acknowledgement to the portly diamond dog who sat at the center of of the delegation, who responded with a bow of the head and a respectful gesture of the paw. Sunset noticed the assistant ambassador's gaze briefly turn towards her, and she gave a curt half nod in return.

“So without further adieu, I present our esteemed guest and creator of this gift, Miss Sunset Shimmer!” Apparently, the assistant ambassador's speech was finally over, as he gave another pinned on smile and beckoned towards Sunset. Sunset smiled thinly in return, lifting herself from her chair, thankful that she _hadn’t_ worn heels as she walked over the rocky ground to the small, makeshift podium that had been set up.

The small crowd of ponies, diamond dogs and griffons clapped in a manner Sunset chose to take as reserved politeness, as Sunset took a moment to clear her throat for what felt like the dozenth time, despite the fact that she’d already emptied her third bottle of water.

 _Stupid desert_ , she thought, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of her jacket and smoothing it out on the podium.

“Thank you, thank you,” She began, swallowing her disinterest and giving her voice the necessary vague aura of investment that was no doubt expected of her. She gave her sunglasses a slight adjustment, using them as a shield to hide the fact that her eyes stayed far more focused on the words on the page than the folks in front of her.

“I can see that you, as a young nation still finding its footing, are in need security and defense. Well, where I come from, I’ve found that more often than not, the best defense is a strong offense. That way, if push comes to shove, you are more than capable of making sure your best interests and investments are secure. So, I have come to give you, as a sign of fellowship and camaraderie, one of my company’s newest and most effective weapons. A surefire way to make sure, no matter what, you are able to protect what you’ve created for yourselves.”

 _Salesmare. Think salesmare._ She thought, pausing to take a sip from her bottle of water again.

“Now a cynic will tell you that the best weapons are ones you never need to use. I respectfully disagree. A weapon you never use is useless. Nothing more than a boogie man. No, the most effective weapon, to me at least, is one you need only fire once.” There was an array of murmuring and muttering, and Sunset could see a look of general curiosity and interest begin to settle over the previously rather stale looking crowd.

She felt her ego swell just a tiny bit, a subtle smirk tickling the edge of her lips. She cleared her throat again, making a broad motion towards the large tarp covered object several paces away. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I present to you one _very_ nice, brand new Repulsor Cannon.”

As she spoke, her horn glimmered, and the tarp was tugged asides with her magic, the delegation turning to watch with widening eyes. There was a wave of clapping in response to the reveal, coupled with several delegates leaning towards His Excellency, whispering something in his ears. His Excellency nodded, before raising a paw.

“Now, the Repulsor Cannon functions by harnessing the innate, naturally occurring mana--or magic as we Equestrians like to call it--in the environment, and collecting it together. You can then chose to fire that energy towards the enemy and--”

His Excellency rose a paw. “If you’ll pardon me, Miss Shimmer, but what is that behind you? In the sky?”

Sunset glanced over her shoulder, noticing the small, rapidly approaching black dot. She turned back towards the assembly, flashing her patented Salesmare Smile™. “That? That, your Excellency, is a drone, which has been programmed to crash right about…” she made a show of looking around before shrugging. “Well, right here.”

The resulting series of shocked gasps simply caused Sunset to roll her eyes from behind her sunglasses, and she raised a hand. “Now, now, don’t all go flying off the handle, everything is under control. You see, if the standard anti-aircraft equipment, say, a missile or a flak gun, managed to take the drone out, we’d still be subject to a hail of flaming debris, and I’d say our little outdoor picnic would be definitely ruined. But with Shimmer International’s Repuslor Cannon, those worries,” The Cannon began to drone, as a glowing ball of blue energy began to colease at the tip of the central barrel. “Those worries are a thing of the past.”

With a snap of her fingers, the cannon fired off a searing beam of raw energy directly at the drone. The drone almost instantaneously erupted into a swirling cloud of flaming debris, which was sent hurdling in the opposite direction, as the beam continued to cut across the sky and impacted the mountain range behind Sunset, visibly causing one of the hillsides to collapse in a landslide.

With that, the cannon began to wind down, the roaring drone fading away as the beam dissipated. There was a long, weighted pause, as the crowd of shocked delegates gawked at the hillside in the distance, which was now obscured by a cloud of debris.

Sunset couldn’t help but puff her chest out, her ego swelling at the dumbstruck looks on the delegates’ faces, and a sharp smirk cut across her face. “A touch hands off for some, no doubt, but I can assure you that this weapon is the cleanest, most efficient way I know of to make the enemy turn tail and run for the hills. Thank you.”

With that, she flashed a double peace sign and strolled away from the podium. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the delegates look among each other, before the scattered sound of clapping began to reach her ears as she lazily opened a casket of booze.

A part of her knew full well that the applause came as much from fear and relief as it did from gratitude or awe, but it didn’t matter much to her. The point was that she’d made her impression, and she was pretty sure it was one that _no one_ here was going to forget any time soon.

“Shimmer!” Came a sharp, unexpected hiss, coupled with a spindly hand grabbing her shoulder roughly and turning her around. Sunset glowered down at her glass of whiskey as some of it’s contents got on her sleeve.

“Yes, Mr...” she glanced down at his name tag, “Pencil Push?” she looked up at him with an unimpressed look. “Need something?”

The Assistant Ambassador’s eyes bulged out of his sockets. “ _Need something_ ?! What the _hell_ ?!” he spat out between gritted teeth. “We didn’t authorize _anything_ like that stunt you just pulled!”

Sunset shrugged slightly. “Hey, you wanted a salespitch, I gave them a salespitch.”

“ _Sales pitch_?! That wasn’t a sales pitch! That was putting an entire delegation of foreign political figures into imminent mortal danger, you jackass!”

Sunset rolled her eyes again, and made a point to push Mr. Pencil Pusher’s hand off her shoulder, and turn back to her liquor cabinet. “Oh please, they would have been in more danger dancing in a field of flowers.”

“What?!” The Assistant Ambassador yelped.

“I programmed the drone and the cannon myself, Mr. Pusher. Even if the cannon had missed, the drone was programmed to land at least five hundred yards away from where we were,” she turned around, taking her sunglasses off to look Mr. Pusher directly in the eye.

“This is advertising, Mr. Pusher. Something you should be familiar with. The only difference between me and you is that I sell weapons, while you sell political salt lick. And the biggest trick is to look like you’re taking a huge risk, when really, you’re the one in complete control. So cool your hooves, Mr. Pusher, and let me do what you brought me here to do.”

Pencil Pusher sputtered for a moment, seemingly trying to deliver another retort, but before he managed to get it out, Sufjan Bah’ran pushed past him, a look of near delirious excitement on his face.

“By the gods, Miss Shimmer, I am utterly amazed! When my advisors told me you were a showmare, I thought they spoke lies! But you truly have a gift for the dramatic!”

Sunset chuckled and spun around to face the ruler, two full glasses in hand. “You’re far too kind, Your Excellency. Now, if I’m not mistaken, I was told you preferred vodka, correct?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sincere apologies for the delay, but life has been particularly hectic, with my real life job, car trouble, and my desktop kicking the bucket all sort of colliding in a bit of a whirlwind.
> 
> Luckily, things are starting to settle down again, so I got some nice motivation and finished this chapter and finally feel it’s ready to post.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy it.

The rest of the meeting had passed in a rather generic haze of hand shaking and palm greasing, but at the very least, Sunset felt the satisfaction of having her ego stroked en masse by the representatives, particularly Sufjan Bah’ran, who’d practically assaulted Sunset with all manner of questions about the Repulsor Cannon, its operation, and how many he could get his paws on.

Sunset had, of course, been evasive, and played her cards close to her chest about the subject. Enough to keep the buyer interested, but not enough to make the magical mundane. After all, what fun was buying something if you already knew all there was to know?

She mentally patted herself on the back as she finished off the last of the beers that had been in the portable cooler she’d brought, glancing around the area to make sure that nobody else was making their way towards her to try and flag her down for more conversation. It was hot and dry, and if she stood in this desert heat any longer, she was sure she’d spontaneously combust just by the sheer heat alone.

_ This stupid vest isn’t helping _ , she mused, giving the collar of her bullet proof vest another tug to try and let out some of the sticky heat that was building up against her coat.  _ Pretty sure I’m frothing by now _ , she added glumly, as she made her way towards the dirt path that was apparently this area’s excuse for “a road,” flagging down a few soldiers who were standing by as she drew closer.

“Hey! Hey, fellas!” she called out, waving at them as they looked in her direction. “One ride back to the airport please. Get me there in less than two hours, and I’ll make sure you all get some nice bonuses or something.”

The soldiers traded looks.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we don’t get bonuses.” one answered sheepishly, and Sunset merely rolled her eyes.

“Nobody said they’d be part of your regular paycheck, did they?” she took a swig from her drink, snapping her fingers while she did so. “Go on, get me a ride.”

The soldiers traded looks before nodding, heading off to begin to ready one of the APC’s, as Sunset looked on, casting a glance over her shoulder only to let out an involuntary groan of frustration as she saw a certain yellow pegasus in military uniform marching over, and looking decidedly nonplussed.

_ Paging Captain Buzzkill _ .

“Sunset, what the hell was that,” Flash Sentry asked, crossing his arms as Sunset let out a melodramatic sigh as she turned around to face him.

“What was what, Flash? I insult the Sultan’s grandmother? Shake with the wrong hand? What?” she asked, taking another swig of her drink.

“Nice to see you’re taking things as seriously as usual,” he started.

“Oh come on, Flash, what’s wrong with a little panache? This isn’t a funeral you know. I should be allowed to have at least a little fun while working, right? Anyways, why’s it bothering you? Don’t you have to polish some general’s shoes or something?”

Flash merely shrugged, already long used to Sunset’s more abrasive personality elements.

“Well, for one thing, I do think that stunt with the drone was over the top. Even for you. And furthermore, we’re drawing an awful lot of attention to ourselves, and the last thing we need is a bunch of terrorists showing up to take all the weapons we have lying in the open  _ and _ assassinate the Sultan, all in one nice little attack. I’d say that’s worth a bit more caring than you seem to be willing to show today.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, “Oh come on, Flash, don’t give me that. You get to blow up the bad guys, and win a bunch of fancy medals, while I get to make a bunch of money helping you blow up the bad guy’s shit with  _ my _ shiny toys. I know Crusty talks a lot about me not caring, but I  _ do _ care. As long as everybody goes home happy, it’s not like it failed, right? You think I do this because I’m bored, or something?”

Flash scoffed, “You probably would, yeah.” He watched her down more of her liquor.

“Whatever, I don’t wanna talk about this now,” Sunset replied, waving her hand dismissively as she let her magic hold the glass as she dusted herself off from a ploom of dust that had blown by. “I’m going to be going home, back to my nice, pretty little house, where I can party it up with the two socialites I’ve got coming over. Now, my ride’s here, and you’re killing my buzz, m’kay?”

She started towards the APC that had driven up, stepping inside and clipping herself in, closing the door behind her. She began to roll up the window, but stopped when Flash put his hand over the rising window.

“First of all, the fact that you even  _ have _ a buzz at eleven in the morning is worrying enough,” he began, taking her cider and pouring it out.

Sunset pouted. “You’re such a spoilsport. Now shoo. The Funvee is for fun ponies, so you can go hang out in the Boringmobile, with all your buddies. Count stamps or something.”

Flash merely gave Sunset a flat look. “‘Funvee’? That’s the best you could come up with?”, he paused, his face changing to a more sober, concerned look. “What I’m saying is  _ be careful _ , okay? Last thing I want is to have to be even more worried than I already am about you.”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile at the sight of genuine concern on Flash’s face, as she felt herself soften up despite herself. She gave his mane a playful ruffle. “Oh don’t worry, I’m going to be a good little filly, okay daddy?”

Flash grimaced. “Don’t call me ‘Daddy’, Sunset. That’s weird and creepy.”

Sunset snickered, “Ah, but the look on your face is always worth it. Look, I’ll meet you back at the base, and I’m pretty sure once we’re on the flight home, I’ll be less grumpy. We can share some drinks, take in an in-flight movie or something. Until then, lighten up a little, okay? I’ll be fine, Flash. We’ve done this a thousand times before, what difference is this trip going to make?”

She gave him a thumbs up as she finished rolling up the window, the APC jolting forward and into motion as it drove off along the dirt road.

That had been an hour ago. Perhaps Flash was right when he told her that ‘Funvee’ wasn’t exactly the right name to give this vehicle.

_ Just another hour or so and you’ll be back in nicely air conditioned splendor _ , she told herself, blankly watching the desolate, barren expanse of sunbaked sand and dirt pass by through the scuffed windows of the APC, the rough, unpaved road causing the vehicle to bounce and shake harshly whenever it struck a rock or a pothole.

_ Air conditioned splendor that has freakin’ shock absorbers _ , she added bitterly, shifting in the spartan seat and giving her seatbelt a tug to try and keep it from slowly rubbing its way clean through her throat. Her hand idly rummaged through her jacket pocket, and fished out a small, silver flask with her cutie mark embossed on it.

She popped it open and took a nice, long gulp.

The sensation of her phone buzzing in her breast pocket caught her attention, and she rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses as she pulled out the phone.

_ Oh… great… Crusty… _ she thought, spotting the caller ID and letting out a vaguely petulant huff. Tapping the screen, she answered the call.

“How did the sale go,” came Upper Crust’s curt voice, cutting through the phone like ice. “Was His Lord Highness pleased?”

“Um, hello to you too, Crusty,” Sunset answered.

“Don’t call me Crusty,” came the razor sharp response from the other end.

“Whatever, Crusty,” Sunset replied, smirking slightly as she pictured Upper Crust’s face twisting into a scowl. “What’s the matter? Can’t you at least wait to interrogate me until I get home?”

“No, I can’t wait. There are millions, perhaps  _ billions _ of bits on the line with this deal, and I need to make sure you didn’t perhaps undermine months of work with your…  _ habits _ .” Upper Crust countered from the other end, and Sunset could practically feel the spit coming from Crust’s mouth as she hissed the last word.

_ You could at least pretend to be diplomatic, geez _ , Sunset thought, shifting in the seat again as the APC jostled once more, the body armor she’d been forced to wear feeling as if it held her entire torso in a box.

“Look, Crusty, if this was such a big friggin’ deal, why didn’t you come along? This palm greasing stuff is your game anyways.”

“Something came up, something that couldn’t wait, so I had to cancel.” Upper Crust replied, her voice taking on an oddly evasive tone. “Trust me, I would have doubtlessly attended myself; Celestia knows I don’t like the idea of you making deals unsupervised.”

“Your faith in me is astounding, Crusty,” Sunset answered flatly. “But yes, everything went fine. He’s very happy to get his little gizmo, and you’re probably going to be very happy once the quarter billion bits flows into the company.”

“Good, good. At least we’ll have something good to tell the shareholders for this quarter.” Upper Crust muttered, the sound of a pen aggressively scribbling on paper mixed in with the clacking of computer keys.

“And aren’t you the voice of joy today,” Sunset sighed. “Go, be happy. I got everything taken care of, and we’re doing good work here; no need to gripe like it’s the end of the world all the time.”

“Given how much trouble we’ve had to deal with from your... oversights, I have every reason to ‘gripe’.”

“Sure. Anyway we’re going through a rough patch right now so I’ll talk to you some time after I get back to civilization? Okay? Good, byeee~!” and with that she closed the phone, slipping it back into her pocket before taking another swig of cider. Upper Crust was in fine form today, and the last thing Sunset needed was to sour her mood further with such form.

Maybe after a few more drinks, Sunset would be more receptive.

Immediately across from her, wearing bulky armor she vaguely remembered perhaps having a hand in designing, was a rather starstruck looking young earth pony soldier, who every so often would open his mouth as if to ask her something, only to shut it again.

“Better say something kid, or you’ll likely explode,” she finally said, sliding her sunglasses down her face slightly to give him a questioning look. “What’s on your mind?”

“It’s just--aw geez--did you really get so drunk once that you spilled oil all over a general?”

Sunset’s expression fell slightly. She sat up a little straighter, pushing her sunglasses up her muzzle before giving a noncommittal shrug. “Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?” The soldier gave a small blush, but said nothing more as he turned his attention forward. Going over her old exploits could be fun and all... except when they seemed content on going over the same ones over and over again.

_ Guess I need new material. _

“But, if I were to see such a thing as oil being deposited on generals,” she said, trying to sound a bit more ‘refined’. “I would say that one looked quite dashing in black, slick even.” there was a pause before the colt began chuckling, Sunset giving a slight smirk at that.

“Well come on then, I know we’re not the only two here.” she said, looking to the rest of the APC’s occupants. “Jeez, you’re drearier than a board meeting. Questions? Comments? Embarrassing stories you don’t want me to hear?”

Another colt, looking a bit older than the first, shot up a hoof. “Did you really bang Miss Equestria?!”

Sunset held back a wince. Of  _ course _ the stallion would dive directly for the absolutely most salacious thing he could think of. It wasn’t precisely  _ false _ per say, but even Sunset herself couldn’t be a hundred percent sure on the matter. That night in particular had been a blur of night clubbing and partying. All very fuzzy and incoherent.

Ironic, since that was the night Sunset had finally made something of a breakthrough on the very same repulsor cannon she’d just finished pitching like a door-to-door salespony. So, of course, a party had been in order. A nice, all night long explosion of music, liquor, and sex. Lots and lots of sex. And probably some drugs. Maybe. It was foggy.

_ That mare had one hell of a plot… _ she thought, shifting in her seat again, knowing that, if the warmth in her cheeks was anything to go by, a blush was starting to bubble up. She decided she should stop thinking and get back to talking.

“I… might have, soldier, I might have,” she finally answered, as the more she tried to scrape up the memory, the more clear it became. But better to play coy.

The eyes of the soldier in question practically exploded out of his skull at hearing that, and his face lit up with a fire engine red blush, only to receive a playful jab from the soldier sitting next to him.

“Jeez, Spear, you didn’t have to be that blunt ya dork!”

Sunset merely shrugged. “Eh, it isn’t his fault, at least he didn’t bring a camera with him and film it, like this one creep I knew once.”

“Somepony really did that?!” The first stallion asked, looking practically mortified. “That’s gross.”

Sunset gave him an approving nod. “Finally, a stallion of class.” She tipped her cider flask towards him. “Anyways, enough gossip. Trust me, when you get to where I am, you kinda grow tired of having to put a security spell over every dang bush or tree in your yard just to keep PMZ from sending somepony scurrying up the tree to try and telephoto lens their way into your bathroom.”

“Oh then you probably wouldn’t want me to take a selfie with you, would you?” The first soldier asked, looking visibly deflated over Sunset’s anecdote about paparazzi. Sunset arched an eyebrow slightly. She could see him fiddling with his phone in his hands, obviously eager to capture what was probably a highlight in his otherwise overwhelmingly pedestrian life.

_ Kinda feel sorry for him _ , she thought, before waving towards the phone. “I’ll make an exception for you, since you look like a nice colt. Anyways, you actually  _ asked _ me first.”

The soldier’s face lit up, and he quickly handed the phone over to his friend sitting across from him, who held the phone up, ready to snap the picture.

“Just make sure this doesn’t end up on PMZ, m’kay?” Sunset added lightheartedly, feeling herself relax a little at seeing the sheer giddy eagerness of the soldier next to her. The soldier threw up a peace sign, and Sunset couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Careful there kid, too much of that stuff and we’ll both be out of jobs.” She snarked, and the soldier looked briefly mortified, as if he’d just flipped her off. She grinned broadly, slapping an arm around his shoulder. “Just messin’ with ya, colt. Throw ‘em up.” She matched his peace sign with one of her own, putting on her Official Photoshoot Smile and nudging her sunglasses down so her eyes could be seen.

There was an awkward pause as the other soldier seemed confused with the phone for a moment, and the soldier next to Sunset rolled his eyes.

“Jeez, Spear, come on, it’s the dang camera, stop fiddling and take the picture.”

The other stallion gave Sunset’s companion an apologetic look. “Sorry, I think I switched it to video.”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile as the two soldiers quickly got into a debate over how to properly use the phone—which looked similar to one of her designs, but she couldn’t be sure—and she cast a glance out the window.

_ Wait a sec… _ she thought, as she could have sworn she saw a large, vaguely pony shaped shadow swoop across the desert ground outside.  _ I didn’t see any pegasi with us. _

The next thing she knew, there was a thunderous explosion mixed with the sound of crashing metal, and everything went sideways, as the world around Sunset exploded into wild chaos, the sound of heavy gunfire spontaneously filling the air, along with loudly barked orders and cries of pain.

One of the soldiers instantly flung himself across her, roaring something about “protecting the asset” as the others frantically grabbed for their weapons, returning fire to whomever was attacking outside. It was now that Sunset realized the vehicle was on it’s side, and everyone was crammed around her, their faces painted with a wild mixture of panic and adrenaline as they yelled back and forth at each other in military jargon.

The sounds of gunfire and explosions outside intensified, with the sharp  _ ping _ of bullets ricocheting off of the APC’s underbelly intensifying, as one of the soldiers clambered awkwardly to fire out of the passenger window, returning fire with his own automatic weapon.

There was the sound of another explosion, this time a little farther away, and Sunset caught a glimpse of the flaming remains of a tire rolling by, and she peered from underneath the soldier on top of her towards the front windshield, which revealed the utterly destroyed remains of one of the other APCs.

She caught glimpses of large, heavily armed figures running back and forth, and it was hard to tell who was a pony, and who wasn’t, as the acrid black smoke from the burning APC soon began to fill the cabin, causing Sunset to hack and cough.

The cabin filled with a splatter of noise as the stallion who’d been on top of Sunset, and yelling orders the whole time, suddenly went limp, a sticky, hot liquid pooling around Sunset’s back.

_ Oh Celestia he’s dead _ , she thought in a panic, and another burst of deafening gunfire filled the cabin, as one of the other soldiers could be seen collapsing to the ground, a pulpy red mess where his head once was.

Sunset nearly vomited.

Now in a full panic, Sunset desperately tried to buck the now-dead soldier off of her, frantically pawing at the buckle of her seatbelt to pop it loose, which only got harder as she realized her hands were practically soaked in the soldier’s blood, making it impossible to get a good grip on the seat belt buckle.

“Haystacks, haystacks, haystacks, haystacks,” she swore, finally igniting her horn and practically ripping the buckle off, which only sent her awkwardly tumbling out of her seat and slamming down onto the unadorned metal of the APC door.

“ **_Fuck,_ ** ” she hissed, rolling onto her back and scrambling towards the front end of the APC, only to find it was smothered in more black smoke. She hacked and coughed, her horn lighting up to try and clear the smoke from around her, as it dawned on her that  _ all _ the ponies around her were likely dead, if the sheer amount of blood and gore surrounding her was anything to go by.

Sensibility told her to stay where she was. Help would be on its way, no doubt, and running out into the open was just begging for somepony to pick her off like a scared rabbit.

_Doesn’t change the fact that somepony is_ ** _shooting at you right now!!!!_** She thought, twisting herself around awkwardly as she caught sight of the hatch on the roof, which now, given that the APC was lying sideways, made it the best option she could think of for escape. Her horn flared, the complex system of latches unlocking themselves and, with a sharp kick of her foot, Sunset popped the hatch open.

Immediately she scrambled out the claustrophobic hatch feet first, rolling onto her hands and knees and breaking into a sprint, only for another thundering explosion to cause her to stumble forwards, slamming into the unforgiving desert ground with a yelp.

With a heaving gasp, Sunset spat out the mixture of pebbles and dirt that had gotten into her mouth as she scrambled back on her feet, running as fast as her feet could carry her towards an outcropping of rocks. She told herself that it would at least provide some cover until helped arrived, hopefully in the form of a military unit, guns and magic ablaze to counteract the hail of bullets hitting the ground all around her as she ran.

_ After all, that’s how this works, right? Get attacked, call for help, help arrives, day saved? Right?! That’s why you help them equip themselves, right?! Or else what’s the  _ **_fucking-Celestia-damned_ ** _ point?! _

Sunset dove behind the rocks like a soccer goalie, not caring all that much about the sharp pain that shot through one of her wrists as she landed awkwardly on it. She curled herself into a quasi-fetal position, arms wrapping around her legs as she awkwardly fumbled about for her phone, her panic increasing as she found it  _ wasn’t _ in her breast pocket, her hands diving down to the pockets of her pantsuit, only to again, find absolutely nothing.

_ You gotta be kidding me _ , she panicked, feeling her heart drop at the realization that she very likely had lost her phone—the  _ only means of communication  _ she now had—all the chaos.

“What do I do what do I do what do I do?!” She babbled to herself, hands wringing in her hair as her horn flared up, putting up the first shield spell she could remember, a rather weak one if she was to be honest, meant for stopping bugs on motorcycle rides, not high caliber ammunition. Hopefully it would just prolong the inevitable.

A high whistle cut through the air, followed by a dull thump, and Sunset’s head practically snapped off as she jolted upright, eyes widening and stomach twisting as she saw, in her trademark red and gold colors, a shining sun followed by the logo of her own company printed on a very,  _ very _ familiar looking RPG design.

_ What the fu— _

The thought was cut short by a blinding flash and a deafening, agonizing eruption of pain and noise as she felt herself be slammed back against the rocks, her chest feeling as someone had just crushed it with a sledgehammer, as the last thing she saw was an eruption of red begin to seep through the fabric of her clothing, the coppery taste of blood welling up in her mouth as everything quickly faded away, the noise and chaos of the world around her instead being replaced by a numbing, endless void.


End file.
